A question for the tournament anglers out there

WIUbassin · 03-23-09, 09:30 PM

I was fishing in my first tournament of the season this weekend and My buddy and I ended up getting 6th place. Funny thing was we had the fish to win it except for the fact that our smallest of our limit turned out to be about 1/32nd of an inch short of bumping the 14 inch limit. If it had bumped we would have won the tournament by over a pound. Also we found out that for this tournament if you weigh in a fish that turns out to be short you lose that fish as well as our largest fish(which was a 5.3

). Now I know most tournaments have some sort of penalty involving weighing a short fish but I was just curious if it was a pretty common place rule to not only lose your short fish but also to lose your biggest fish?

With out weighing the fish at all we would have still gotten second but I have never been one to give up a shot at a win for a garunteed second. I just thought it was a little harsh that our big fish (which also would have taken big bass for the tournament was disqualified to).

flfireman · 03-23-09, 09:38 PM

Almost all the tourneys I have done that is a common rule. Short fish=loss of that one plus largest. It sucks but I guess it keeps a bunch of shorts being weighed in.

MIbasser · 03-23-09, 09:42 PM

I'm pretty sure the Tuesday nighter that I fish has the same rule. I had to ask for a courtesy bump last year while still on the water to check a fish. Good thing it was just a tad short.
Just wondering, did you ask for the bump?

rangerryan · 03-23-09, 09:47 PM

yeah most tournys allow a courtesy bump. last year i made my partner very angry by turning one loose that was close but we got third with out it. and would have most likely been out of the money had we weighed him.

WIUbassin · 03-23-09, 09:51 PM

No, they weren't allowing courtesy bumps it was all or nothing. Before we brought it up we bumped it on two different boards. Made it on one, just shy on another it was that close. Probably just depended on how hard you pushed his lip against the back of the board to be honest. I guess thats just how it goes sometime though.

carolina-rig-01 · 03-23-09, 11:13 PM

that seems a little harsh to me too. all the ones i have fished are loss of short fish plus 2lb deduction.

WIUbassin · 03-23-09, 11:26 PM

yeah the tournaments I usually fish are a 2lb deduct as well

JB · 03-24-09, 06:28 AM

General rule of thumb is remeasure the lenght before the weight in. Some fish that just make the line can shrink, esp. if its a hot summer day.
Our club had a one pound deduction if you brought in a short or dead fish, and that includes not pinching the tail to make it longer....some tourneys allow the tail pinch, ours was just set up to follow BASS federation rules of the 90s

THEBASSGOD · 03-24-09, 01:09 PM

yea the best thing to do is make sure the fish measures before you bring it up people here try to weigh in short fish all the time in local tournaments but we usually doc a pound and lose the fish here

aikenyounggun · 03-24-09, 01:58 PM

yeah im pretty sure the FOM is a deduction..... and my local club i think its just lose that fish..... thats harsh

just make sure if goes over the line.... sometimes when you are tryin to hard to make it make the limit the mouth comes off the front plate... harsh but sure it taught you a lesson

you will get em next time

3dkicker · 03-24-09, 03:55 PM

Here's a couple things to look at

If the fish is close then hold off weighing the fish until
1) You ask what the penalties are if you don't know.
2) You look at the weights at that point in time.
3) You watch guys heading up to see what types of bags are being brought to the scales
4) See if there is an official ruler that can be used to measure your fish.
5) Watch the person weighing the fish and determine if they squeeze the tail or not.
6) Determine what your fish will weigh without the short fish. Most 12" fish weigh around 1lb.
7) Wait as long as you can before you have to weigh in. That way you'll have a good idea of what you need to win a check.

Once you've done the above make an intelligent decision.

carolina-rig-01 · 03-24-09, 04:53 PM

i am sure that it is common knowledge but in case you didn't know, a fish will usually measure longer on one side than on the other. so if it is just a hair short on one side it is probably either a keeper on the other side or much shorter on the other side. i have weighed in fish before that would measure on one side and not the other. a few times the person measuring the fish called it short because he measured it on the short side but i asked them to measure the other side and it measured as a keeper. so always measure both sides on a border line fish and don't be afraid to ask them to flip the fish over it it is called short.

this is also a good time to point out that you need to make sure your bump board isn't bent and keep it put up in a place it won't get bent. your board can be slightly bent and make a short fish look like a keeper. we had a guy in our club that had a bent board and got caught with short fish in 3 tournies. finally everyone pitched in and bought him a new board so he would quit using that as an excuse.

zooker · 03-24-09, 05:06 PM

golden rules are cheap buy one and use it...

zooker

everettvet · 03-26-09, 04:43 PM

Golden rule seems to be used a lot, but check the tourney rules and find out what bump board is going to be used and get one. Not all bump boards measure the same.

03-23-09, 09:30 PM	#1
WIUbassin BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: East Central Illinois Posts: 213	A question for the tournament anglers out there I was fishing in my first tournament of the season this weekend and My buddy and I ended up getting 6th place. Funny thing was we had the fish to win it except for the fact that our smallest of our limit turned out to be about 1/32nd of an inch short of bumping the 14 inch limit. If it had bumped we would have won the tournament by over a pound. Also we found out that for this tournament if you weigh in a fish that turns out to be short you lose that fish as well as our largest fish(which was a 5.3 ). Now I know most tournaments have some sort of penalty involving weighing a short fish but I was just curious if it was a pretty common place rule to not only lose your short fish but also to lose your biggest fish? With out weighing the fish at all we would have still gotten second but I have never been one to give up a shot at a win for a garunteed second. I just thought it was a little harsh that our big fish (which also would have taken big bass for the tournament was disqualified to). __________________ "Cuttin Class to Catch Bass..." www .wiu. edu/users/fishing

03-23-09, 09:38 PM	#2
flfireman BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Palm Bay, Fl Posts: 2,751	Almost all the tourneys I have done that is a common rule. Short fish=loss of that one plus largest. It sucks but I guess it keeps a bunch of shorts being weighed in. __________________ In the Lord all things are possible.

03-23-09, 09:51 PM	#5
WIUbassin BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: East Central Illinois Posts: 213	No, they weren't allowing courtesy bumps it was all or nothing. Before we brought it up we bumped it on two different boards. Made it on one, just shy on another it was that close. Probably just depended on how hard you pushed his lip against the back of the board to be honest. I guess thats just how it goes sometime though. __________________ "Cuttin Class to Catch Bass..." www .wiu. edu/users/fishing

03-23-09, 11:13 PM	#6
carolina-rig-01 BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Webb City, MO Posts: 6,387	that seems a little harsh to me too. all the ones i have fished are loss of short fish plus 2lb deduction. __________________ You only live once. But if you do it right, once is enough.

03-23-09, 11:26 PM	#7
WIUbassin BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: East Central Illinois Posts: 213	yeah the tournaments I usually fish are a 2lb deduct as well __________________ "Cuttin Class to Catch Bass..." www .wiu. edu/users/fishing

03-23-09, 09:42 PM	#3
MIbasser BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Okemos, MI Posts: 1,447	I'm pretty sure the Tuesday nighter that I fish has the same rule. I had to ask for a courtesy bump last year while still on the water to check a fish. Good thing it was just a tad short. Just wondering, did you ask for the bump?

03-23-09, 09:47 PM	#4
rangerryan BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Ponca City, ok Posts: 432	yeah most tournys allow a courtesy bump. last year i made my partner very angry by turning one loose that was close but we got third with out it. and would have most likely been out of the money had we weighed him.

03-24-09, 06:28 AM	#8
JB BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 8,655	General rule of thumb is remeasure the lenght before the weight in. Some fish that just make the line can shrink, esp. if its a hot summer day. Our club had a one pound deduction if you brought in a short or dead fish, and that includes not pinching the tail to make it longer....some tourneys allow the tail pinch, ours was just set up to follow BASS federation rules of the 90s

03-24-09, 01:09 PM	#9
THEBASSGOD BassFishin.Com Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Ashland City TN Posts: 15	yea the best thing to do is make sure the fish measures before you bring it up people here try to weigh in short fish all the time in local tournaments but we usually doc a pound and lose the fish here __________________ THE FISH ARE THE REAL COMPETITION

03-24-09, 01:58 PM	#10
aikenyounggun BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: aiken, SC Posts: 2,051	yeah im pretty sure the FOM is a deduction..... and my local club i think its just lose that fish..... thats harsh just make sure if goes over the line.... sometimes when you are tryin to hard to make it make the limit the mouth comes off the front plate... harsh but sure it taught you a lesson you will get em next time __________________ <>< Rather be Fishing ><>

03-24-09, 03:55 PM	#11
3dkicker BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Spotsylvania, VA Posts: 4,483	Here's a couple things to look at If the fish is close then hold off weighing the fish until 1) You ask what the penalties are if you don't know. 2) You look at the weights at that point in time. 3) You watch guys heading up to see what types of bags are being brought to the scales 4) See if there is an official ruler that can be used to measure your fish. 5) Watch the person weighing the fish and determine if they squeeze the tail or not. 6) Determine what your fish will weigh without the short fish. Most 12" fish weigh around 1lb. 7) Wait as long as you can before you have to weigh in. That way you'll have a good idea of what you need to win a check. Once you've done the above make an intelligent decision. __________________ Smitty www.smittystubes.com

03-24-09, 04:53 PM	#12
carolina-rig-01 BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Webb City, MO Posts: 6,387	i am sure that it is common knowledge but in case you didn't know, a fish will usually measure longer on one side than on the other. so if it is just a hair short on one side it is probably either a keeper on the other side or much shorter on the other side. i have weighed in fish before that would measure on one side and not the other. a few times the person measuring the fish called it short because he measured it on the short side but i asked them to measure the other side and it measured as a keeper. so always measure both sides on a border line fish and don't be afraid to ask them to flip the fish over it it is called short. this is also a good time to point out that you need to make sure your bump board isn't bent and keep it put up in a place it won't get bent. your board can be slightly bent and make a short fish look like a keeper. we had a guy in our club that had a bent board and got caught with short fish in 3 tournies. finally everyone pitched in and bought him a new board so he would quit using that as an excuse. __________________ You only live once. But if you do it right, once is enough.

03-24-09, 05:06 PM	#13
zooker BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: denton nc Posts: 13,441	golden rules are cheap buy one and use it... zooker __________________ the godfather.. aml in remission since 7-20-09

03-26-09, 04:43 PM	#14
everettvet BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Paducah, KY Posts: 730	Golden rule seems to be used a lot, but check the tourney rules and find out what bump board is going to be used and get one. Not all bump boards measure the same.

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